Ionia Rotary Club dishes out pasta, basketball and scholarship money

High school sports fans can enjoy free basketball as they support local scholarships, and have a full dinner while they are at it.

The Ionia Rotary Club is hosting its annual Pasta Buffet to benefit the Ionia Rotary Scholarship Fund from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Ionia High School sports lobby. Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $3 for children under 10.

Pre-sale tickets, which are available through Wednesday from Rotary members and at the administrative office, located at the west end of the high school, include free admission to four games that night as the junior varsity and varsity teams of both boys and girls take on the Haslett Vikings.

Tickets for the pasta buffet also will be available at the door the night of the event, but will not include free admission to the games.

The buffet will include spaghetti with Alfredo, marinara and meat sauces, sliced chicken, side salads and a beverage. Each meal will be topped off with a homemade cookie. The food service department, in cooperation with the Class Act restaurant at Heartlands Institute of Technology, will be preparing the food, and Rotary Club members will serve it up.

If school is canceled due to snow, the event will be rescheduled for Feb. 15, when the Bulldogs play St. Johns.

The scholarship fund is Rotary’s biggest project. The group awards $4,000 in scholarships each spring to Ionia High School seniors who show leadership and academc potential.

“The Ionia Rotary Club awards four scholarships each year so that Ionia High School students are able to get support with their college expenses,” said Ben Kirby, associate superintendent of Ionia Public Schools and a Rotary Club member. “With events such as our annual spaghetti dinner, we are able to utilize the community contributions that are collected and give 100 percent back to our students.”

A membership organization of business people and professionals, Rotary promotes “service before self,” said Saundra Howard, Rotary chair for public relations.

“We’re out there purely to help the community in any way we possibly can, especially through scholarship money for students and doing volunteer work promoting or earning money for the scholarships we present,” she said.

To learn more about the Ionia Rotary Club, visit www.ioniarotaryclub.org.